Chapter 1

Today was Michael Grant's company team-building day. He said he wouldn't come home until after the dinner gathering in the evening.

It was rare for me to have some rest. After returning home, I took a relaxing bath.

In the steamy bathroom, the mirror clearly showed two palm prints.

The palms were obviously smaller than mine.

I froze on the spot, my heart sinking heavily.

Michael was still out. That meant someone else had been here.

I forced myself to stay calm and called Michael, trying to keep my voice as normal as possible.

"Honey, is your team-building over? Did you come back home today?"

The background noise on the phone was loud, and Michael's voice sounded slightly slurred from drinking. "Nope, I've been with colleagues all along. What's up, dear?"

I laughed it off, saying it was nothing, just asking. But after I hung up, my hands and feet felt ice cold.

He said he hadn't come back.

My gaze returned to the mirror, and I began searching the house for any clues.

Finally, in the bathroom trash, I found a small sample of hand cream, cherry blossom scented, not a brand I used.

I understood then. The clear palm prints on the mirror were made by pressing hands coated with that hand cream.

That night, I couldn't sleep at all.

*****

The next day, I didn't bother calling. I just drove straight to Michael's office.

His assistant, Sophie Lane, greeted me politely and showed me into his office, pouring me a glass of water.

As she turned away, I caught a whiff of that familiar, sweet cherry blossom scent.

I watched her back, then glanced at the photo of the handprints on my phone, my eyes lingering on her hands resting on the desk.

Just then, the office door swung open. Michael walked in, looking genuinely surprised to see me.

"Honey, what brings you here today? Did you come to check up on me?" he teased.

He walked over with a smile, Sophie trailing behind him. When she saw me, she instinctively hid her hands behind her back, her expression turning a bit uneasy.

*****

I looked at the perfect look of surprise on Michael's face, and the guilty, caught-red-handed expression on Sophie's. That last shred of hope inside me finally broke.

"I missed you, so I came," I said.

I gave him a gentle smile, just like always.

Michael walked over and wrapped his arm around my waist, kissing me on the forehead like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I knew you loved me best," he said.

He said it in an affectionate, almost show-off way, making sure Sophie heard every word.

Sophie's face went dark for a moment, then she lowered her head and said quietly, "Mr. Grant, Emily, I'll head out to work now."

She was about to leave when I spoke up.

"Wait," I said.

Sophie froze, her body going stiff.

I pulled my phone out of my bag, brought up the photo of the handprints, and showed it to Michael. I made sure my voice was just loud enough for the people peeking in at the office door to catch every word.

"Honey, look. Do you think our house is haunted or something?" I asked.

I pointed at the photo. "Last night, after I showered, these showed up out of nowhere on the mirror. It totally freaked me out. They're so tiny, like a little ghost girl's hands."

Michael's smile froze on his face.

Sophie, with her back to us, her shoulders gave a tiny, almost invisible shake.

"Don't scare yourself," Michael recovered quickly, wrapped his arm around me, and guided me to the couch, speaking playfully, with that familiar affection in his voice. "It's just water vapor, babe. Come on, there are no ghosts."

"Really?" I tilted my head at him. "Thing is, I also found this in the trash."

I put the tiny cherry blossom hand cream on the coffee table for everyone to see.

The office went dead silent.

Sophie clenched her hand at her side, almost on instinct.

The sweet, cloying cherry blossom scent in the air made my stomach turn.

"Maybe the housekeeper left it behind last time," Michael said, his voice a little dry. He picked up the hand cream and looked it over. "It's so tiny. You've got eagle eyes."

He was just trying to play it off.

Maybe I would've believed him before.

But now, looking at that familiar face, he just felt like a stranger to me.

We'd been together since college, got married, and worked hard side by side for eight years before we finally put down roots in this city.

We bought our house with a mortgage, and my parents chipped in for the car's down payment. Life wasn't glamorous, but it was steady and real.

I always thought our love could get us through anything.

"Honey, where are the photos from last night's team-building?" I said, putting my things away and switching gears with a bright smile. "Send them to me, I want to see if you guys had fun."

It was a trap.

Michael let out a sigh of relief and immediately pulled out his phone. "Sure, I'll send them to you right now."

He didn't notice the icy look that flashed in my eyes.

Michael had better watch out. If more concrete evidence were to surface, it would spell trouble for him.

Otherwise, he would learn the hard way that a lowlife like him should crawl back to the gutter where they belong.